"I see it all the time and I'm not even looking for it," he said. "I see people saying: 'I bet Montee Ball regrets staying in school.

" 'He made a dumb decision.

" 'He should have left.

" 'He basically lost millions.' "

Those comments refer to Ball's decision to put the National Football League on hold - after rushing for 1,923 yards and scoring 39 touchdowns as a junior - and return to help UW win another Big Ten Conference title.

With UW 0-1 in the league and 3-2 overall as it prepares to host Illinois (2-3, 0-1) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, and Ball's numbers well off the pace he set last season, fans have begun to revisit that decision.

Ball has a message for that crowd.

"Basically, what I want to tell people, is don't worry about me," he said. "Maybe money wasn't important to me.

"Maybe just staying another year and playing with my teammates and enjoying my last year in college was important."

But does he regret the decision to return to UW?

"I still do not regret my decision at all," he said. "You can't change it. And I don't regret it.

"I'm glad that I decided to come back, because I do believe we can turn this around and still make it to the Big Ten title game."

How the Badgers fare against the Illini and next week at Purdue could determine whether they return to Indianapolis to defend their title.

With Ohio State and Penn State ineligible to compete in the title game because of NCAA sanctions and Indiana struggling, the only legitimate contenders in the Leaders Division are UW, Purdue and Illinois.

And with Ball averaging a career-low 3.6 yards per carry and having received 74.4% of the carries by the team's tailbacks (125 of 168), the staff wants to get tailbacks Melvin Gordon and James White more involved.

"James and Melvin have worked their butt off and certainly deserve to play more," running backs coach Thomas Hammock said. "They deserve to play early."

Gordon has gained 135 yards on only 12 carries, an average of 11.2 yards per carry. White has 31 carries for 129 yards, an average of 4.2 yards per carry.

Ball leads the way in touchdowns with six, followed by White with two and Gordon with one.

Gordon and White enjoyed their best performances of the season against Texas-El Paso, when Ball left the game in the opening minute of the second quarter after absorbing a blow to the head.

Gordon rushed eight times for 112 yards and a touchdown. White added 65 yards and two scores on 15 carries.

Hammock acknowledged the staff hoped to continue to give Gordon and White more touches at Nebraska.

That plan changed during the game as Ball rushed for three touchdowns in the first 34 minutes, 31 seconds to help UW build a 27-10 lead.

"I thought Montee was really stepping it up early in the game last week," Hammock said. "He looked a lot better. We wanted to give him a chance to stay warm."

Once Nebraska rallied and eventually took a 30-27 lead, the staff stayed with Ball.

Ball finished with 90 yards and three touchdowns on 32 attempts. Gordon had two carries for 5 yards. White lost 5 yards on his only carry.

"It is hard to get a ballpark figure because every game is different," Hammock said, when asked how he would like to see the carries distributed.

The ideal breakdown for head coach Bret Bielema, including runs or receptions, would be 25 touches for Ball, 15 for White and 10 for Gordon.

"I don't want to just talk about it," he said. "I want to see it out there on the field."

How does Ball feel about giving up some his carries?

"I am not a selfish player at all," he said. "I would like to see them get more carries because I now they can make some things happen."

Does Ball think people would believe him if he told them he is at peace with his decision to return to UW?

"They would laugh at me," he said. "They'd say I'm lying. But I am honestly telling the truth.